calling_logs | I don't want somebody to love me... [open]

Entry tags:

I don't want somebody to love me... [open]

Who: Thomas and YOU!
What: a simple meal as Thomas and Margaery get used to one another
When: Post-exploration trip
Where:Carmichael's Deli, City of Tomorrow
Notes & Warnings: None so far! It's just song lyrics.

What's Thomas doing in the City of Tomorrow?

Looking over possible storefronts to purchase for what he's hoping will become Coiffure Cup's second location. That's why he's his laptop and a few printed out listings that he's checking off, circling, or X'ing out as he does his research on the various locations using some of the demographic information he was able to find.

Because the thing of it is, he really likes this place. Like... really likes it. Especially since he can come here without being unavailable to his brother much. But he doesn't have to deal with his sister's bullshit, or the small amount of bullshit that he actually minds from Harry, and hey, he might even be able to find an utterly out of this world Christmas present for the cranky beansprout.

But the thing of it is, if he's going to spend a decent amount of time here, he needs a local cashflow source and a local location to get his fix. Which means... a salon. And given how well his salon fusion has worked back in Chicago, he sees no problem with making a franchise of it.

Of course, all of the things around him make sense for someone working on this goal except, perhaps, for the black and white california king who's coiled up around his shoulders. Her name happens to be Margaery, you see, and she's something of a souvenir from his time on 'Demon' Island. For the moment, she's resting and soaking in his warmth happily enough, but there may be a few whispers in his ear as she notices a tiny detail or otherwise passes judgement on the various locations that he's looking through.

All in all, a rather relaxing afternoon, all things considered. But do feel free to interrupt...

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He stuffs his hands his his pockets, looks at the ground for a second or two then shrugs. "Wasn't kidding about not being used to reacting to people like that is all." He looks up and smiles, apologetically. "Not a big deal."

He steps back a little, not offended or even guilty. Just how you do when someone says they need a little air.

"Lemme know if it isn't, okay?"

He knows what he does to people. He doesn't love it.

It's fine. Steve is feeling guilty and embarrassed enough for both of them. "Sure." Like hell. Now that he's hit it once, he'll be able to deal in the future. "Let's go check out those locations."

Thomas leaves it at that, doesn't ask again, and doesn't put any more distance between him and Steve than he'd had before. Instead, he makes them turn and points out the building from the next streetcorner.

"That's the small location. Used to be another salon with, of all things, a hole in the wall coffee counter right next door. All the plumbing is pretty much perfect; I'd just need to get new machines, redecorate, and hire the staff."

Once Steve has recovered, he's recovered. That means staying as close as he was, relaxing as much as he had been, and getting on with the conversation without any sort of awkwardness.

"You interested in doing another coffee shop?"

"Coffee shop slash salon," because that is his schtick. "And yeah, the business model worked the first time, I want to do it again. Can't see it failing me now."

"Not with you running it," Steve says, with just a little bit of a smile. "You thinking of moving in here full time?"

He holds up a finger. "Not full time," he admits as they keep going, "but a lot of the time, yeah. Things have been kinda wild the last few months. I'm figuring I could get used to some of the boring around here."

"Seems like a lot of the people are trying to find ways to make a second life here, work. Homes, businesses...." Steve wasn't really sure how he felt about that, himself.

He looks at Steve for a moment, just a moment, before he seems to consider something and just sort of starts walking again.

Margaery, instead, is the one who speaks.

"Escape hatch. We just need to find a way to bring two important people here."

"Seems like there are a lot of people who have plenty of good reasons to need one, too." Betty was mostly who he was thinking about, but he'd sure as hell drag Bucky here to get him away from Hydra if he had the option.

The question was more about himself.

He bumped his shoulder into Thomas', lightly and intentionally as a means of... Something. "Who are the people?"

Thomas blinks at the nudge, before letting out a soft chuckle and shaking his head.

"Her name's Justine. And his name's Harry. And I've got reasons for both of them."

They mattered. As almost no one else did.

He cocks his head at Thomas' blink. What? being the implication, though he knows pretty well what it was because he's inexperienced and out of his depth but he's not too stupid to put some pieces together. At least not to the degree working out that kind of touch isn't common in Thomas' life.

"Yeah, I figured the combination of there being exactly two of them and you thinking escape hatch meant there was a reason." Smart-ass - but a gentle one. "I've got a person or so I wouldn't mind dragging here to keep safe. Not sure I could settle that far, though."

"Hey," he holds up a finger, "I'm not the kinda guy who escape hatches easy or anything. But having one is always a good idea."

"It wasn't an insult,"he says, dryly and with a bit of a look. "I've got stuff back home and I don't know if there's enough of me to try living here, too." That out of the way he asks the question that pops into his head. "That thing you do doesn't affect animals does it?"

He glances over at Steve because--

"Do you feel particularly lustful as a wolf?" He shrugs. "I can't draw on something that isn't there, man."

He leans in a little himself this time.

"Though I dunno, you look like there's plenty of you to go around. Shoulders for days over there."

He starts to say something about the wolf thing and reason he asked - because hey, that could be useful, somehow, but then Thomas is leaning in and Steve just...

Steve rolls his eyes and flips Thomas in the nose, because he is totally not taking any of that seriously. Yeah, yeah, people pay attention to him now but in his head he's wallpaper, at best, and about 5 feet tall and 100 pounds soaking wet at worst. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, fine, excuse me for asking."

That just gets a laugh and he backs off, shoving Steve's shoulder a little.

"Deal with it, nerd. You live the life of the pretty. Whatever you left behind, you're stuck riding shotgun with me here."

Steve stopped, cocked his head like a confused down and frowned much the same way. "I don't even know what any of that means. Is that english?" He gets it more or less but my god he can play dumb when it suits him.

Or when it suits play.

"You want me to switch to ancient Etruscan? Cause I'll do it, man, don't push me," he says before leaning over and nudging Steve's shoulder again to shake off the frown.

"Also hey. I've got a weird question. Weirder than your wolf thing question."

Steve's starting to get the impression that Thomas is desperate for contact and is just throwing back what Steve showed him Steve was okay with. He's not sure that makes any sense, but he actively leans against Thomas a little, though it's still casual and playful - at least in as much as he makes a point of clearly trying to steer Thomas that way.

"Yeah? Shoot."

He looks over at him for a moment, clearly considering something or other... before pushing it down. Away.

"What kinda coffee do you actually like?"

That look's a little less comfortable, but not so much so that Steve can't ignore it. So he does, and blinks at the question. "That's a question you consider weirder than if you turn on wolves?" Please, Thomas. "Black, and cheap."

Steve gets a flat expression. A very flat expression.

"No, that's what you're used to. What do you like?"

Steve looks bewildered. "Black moderately priced coffee?"

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